Word: delaney
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Dates: during 1960-1969
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...assault on conformity by France's perky avant-gardist Eugene Ionesco, is somewhat obvious and farfetched but also exhilarating-particularly when Star Zero Mostel virtually turns himself into a rhinoceros onstage. A Taste of Honey, a first play by Britain's young (19 at the time) Shelagh Delaney, is an unhistrionic, earthy drama about a desperately lonely girl. And the musical Irma La Douce, French to its very bedposts, boasts Broadway's most charming chippy, Elizabeth Seal...
...attempting to reach any stature: Tennessee Williams' disappointing domestic comedy, Period of Adjustment, and Arthur Laurents' clever but empty Invitation to a March, Clearly the most provocative plays are all imported originals-A Taste of Honey, by Britain's young (19 when she wrote it) Shelagh Delaney; Becket, by France's Jean Anouilh; The Hostage (closed), by Ireland's Brendan Behan...
There is a difference between bitterness and cynicism. Cynicism restricts itself to the rejection of certain values; its laughter is limited by the negative function of this rejection. The art of Shelagh Delaney, however, is bitter in that it confronts the present grimness of life while bearing the promise of a distant rejoicing. A Taste of Honey goes on to consider the world to which our generation must give birth...
...Miss Delaney's play is a philosophical accomplishment, for she wrings a bit of optimism out of sooty reality; but it is even more significant as theater. Aided by brilliant performances from Angela Lansbury as the mother, and Joan Plowright as Jo, the author manages to present the person she is condemning sympathetically (and thus, fairly). She sets forth the accusation against her with restraint and humor rather than fury, while the informal use of jazz reinforces the author's directive that "the time is today...
There are other plays worth seeing in New York. Brendan Behan's The Hostage is every bit as funny as Miss Delaney's play, and also takes a look at such human insanities as patriotism, the brink, and men who take themselves too seriously. High hopes are held for Brecht's Jungle of the Cities, which is opening now. Unfortunately, this is far from the poet's finest work, though New York seems ready for good Brecht. The Wall, by Millard Lampell, is a good reminder of the Nazi atrocities, but it is too reminiscent of Diary of Anne Frank...